Semper K9s Kiernan Photo copySemper K9 is proud to announce our latest addition to our assistance dog team. Kiernan, a black lab mix, is the 5000th dog saved through local rescue Operation Paws for Homes. “OPH’s first dog over four years ago was a black lab, our 1,000th dog saved was a black lab, and now our 5,000th dog saved is a black lab that will go into training with Semper K9 to serve one of our country’s Veterans and/or their families.” said OPH Board of Directors member Sonja Gladwin.

Kiernan is named in honor of local Army veteran and ovarian cancer survivor Megan Kiernan Judge. Judge owns and operates Haus Juris German Shepherds, a full service dog kennel and training facility where top-quality German Shepherds are bred and sold. She owned and trained Liedo vom Kuckucksland, renowned in the dog-training world as the youngest “Sieger,” or top-ranked German Shepherd, in the history of the German Shepherd Dog Club of America Working Dog Association.

aIMG_2685

“Megan was my first mentor in the canine world outside of the military and opened my eyes to an entirely different perspective of dog behavior and training.” states Christopher Baity, Semper K9’s Executive Director. Some of the skills he learned from Judge are implemented in Semper K9’s training modules.

“Semper K9 has been a fantastic partner with Operation Paws for Homes from the beginning, finding forever homes where animals that were once slated for death find a renewed, meaningful purpose and loving home.” Gladwin goes on to say. “The only thing better than finding a homeless dog a forever home, is finding them one with a Veteran and their family, assisting and supporting them.”

 

Kiernan & her handler Jonathan

[instagram-feed hashtag=”#semperk9skiernan”]